Rocío Lozano-Knowlton

Rocío Lozano-Knowlton

Rocío Lozano-Knowlton,

Rocío is the Executive Director and Founder of the MERITO (Multicultural Education for Resource Issues Threatening Oceans) Foundation Inc. The MERITO Foundation Inc. isa non-for profit organization thatraises ocean and environmental literacy of multicultural audiences through education, citizen science, and conservation projects. Over the past 11 years, Rocío has immersed over 9,000 underserved and STEM underrepresented 4th-12th grade students in ocean science and in the field conservation, and has provided professional development trainings to over 250 minority-serving educators, and has developed place-based bilingual and culturally competent curriculum in Southern California.

Currently, Rocío also works as a consultant for NOAA National Ocean Service as coordinator and lead instructor of NOAA Capacity Building Program for Marine Protected Areas practitioners in Korea. Rocío capacities as President of an NGO, and as a consultant/affiliate of NOAA includekeen knowledge ofocean science and understanding of ocean issues, education citizen science program development, project management, grant writing, curriculum writing, public speaking, capacity building (domestically and abroad) and leading outdoor education and conservation activities.Rocíohas a B. Sc. in Oceanography from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Mexico, a M. S. in Marine Resource Protection from Herriot Watt University in Scotland, Certified Interpretative Guide by NAI, Wilderness First Responder and PADI Dive master.

In USA, Rocío has worked for a number of agencies and projects as a bilingual environmental education and outreach specialist including California Department of Education, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Sea Grant, Ventura County Office of Education, and Santa Barbara City Creeks Division. Prior to her work in California, Rocíoco-owned and Directed Baja Quest, an ecotourism company specialized in the Baja Peninsula and Gulf of California between 1996 and 2006. In Mexico,Rocío also worked as a marine resource protection consultant for a various marine conservation organizations and projects including the coordination of the scientific review and amendments of Mexico’s shark fisheries regulatory blue print (NOM-029 2000-2003), Whale shark interaction and protection policies (1999), and creation of artificial reefs (1997-98) in Baja, Mexico among other projects.

Rocío is an athlete and outdoor enthusiast. She loves to travel, see the world, and with her family strives to live in an environmentally sustainable manner in Southern California. Rocío speaks three languages, born in Mexico naturalized US citizen. She has lived in 4countries within 3 continents, and has visited many countries above and below the water surface either for leisure or professional work.